At the end of 2014, the Raspberry Pi Model B+ was released, improving upon the original Raspberry Pi that was released a couple years earlier. The basic layout and design introduced with the Pi B+ has stayed the same since then, and you can still buy it today! In that tradition, the Raspberry Pi 3 is today getting an upgrade to Raspberry Pi 3B+.

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Raspberry Pi 3B+: What’s new

While not as big as an aesthetic overhaul as the original B+ was, the Pi 3B+ does have a larger selection of improvements that make it distinct from the original Pi 3. This includes a more powerful CPU, now running at 1.4 GHz on all its four cores. The ethernet port has also been updated to a Gigabit port, an oft requested feature, although due to pre-existing limitations it maxes out at about 350 megabits. There’s also some minor upgrades, such as a different wireless antenna and the addition of PoE pins for more advanced applications.

See also: Raspberry Pi 3B+ specs and benchmarks and compare to Raspberry Pi 3 benchmarks.

Great project ideas for the faster Raspberry Pi 3B+

Otherwise, it still has all the great connectivity and software of the original Raspberry Pi 3. With this new power though, we reckon it could make a few projects better than ever, like these ones:

Easy retro gaming on Raspberry Pi – a more powerful Pi can go a long way here

Image editing on your Raspberry Pi – image editing can get resource intensive, so extra power is always useful

Set up a file server – make use of the better ethernet port on the Pi 3B+ by improving your home Pi server

Get a Raspberry Pi 3B+ for the same great price of $35 (roughly £30 with VAT) by choosing one of the many certified resellers listed on the new product page.

We're currently working on a huge Raspberry Pi 3B+ feature for The MagPi 68, which is out on Thursday 29 March, so look out for more ways to use your new Pi 3B+ then!